Tenant's Apartment Being Refurbished

September 30, 2004

LVT Number: 17616

Landlord sued to evict rent-controlled tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant claimed that he was staying at a friend's apartment while his own apartment was being refurbished. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and won. Tenant had lived in the apartment for 30 years before he moved temporarily into his friend's apartment. The refurbishment took a year and a half, instead of the original estimate of three months. But tenant showed that he merely stayed at his friend's apartment while his own was being worked on, because it was cluttered, dirty, and undecorated.

Landlord sued to evict rent-controlled tenant for nonprimary residence. Tenant claimed that he was staying at a friend's apartment while his own apartment was being refurbished. The court ruled for landlord. Tenant appealed and won. Tenant had lived in the apartment for 30 years before he moved temporarily into his friend's apartment. The refurbishment took a year and a half, instead of the original estimate of three months. But tenant showed that he merely stayed at his friend's apartment while his own was being worked on, because it was cluttered, dirty, and undecorated. The fact that tenant continued to stay at the friend's apartment even after landlord started the eviction case was irrelevant to whether the apartment was his primary residence on the date the tenancy was terminated.

Ascot Realty LLC v. Richstone: NYLJ, 9/13/04, p. 26, col. 3 (App. Div. 1 Dept.; Tom, JP, Andrias, Williams, Marlow, Gonzalez, JJ)

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